One, Two Many Spitbites
by Twin-One
Summary: A sprite comes out of a game to visit Mainframe. He seems nice enough, but is there more to this mysterious stranger than meets the eye? Bob thinks so!
1. From the Game

**Author's Note:** This is my very first ReBoot fanfic. I don't know why I haven't written one before now. I've been a fan of ReBoot ever since it first came out in the '90's, but for some reason I've never written any fanfics. Soooo… I thought it was high time I did.

**(This story takes place somewhere around the first and second seasons, before Enzo meets AndrAIa.)**

**Disclaimer:** I am only a fan and do not own anything of ReBoot!! All characters, names and anything else pertaining to ReBoot are owned and copyrighted by their rightful owners—Mainframe Entertainment. The only thing I own is the fanfic itself and any fan-made characters that were created by me exclusively for the story. This fanfic and any of my other fanfics may not be copied, altered, edited or posted elsewhere without my permission. For those of you who may speak another language please feel free to translate my story into your native language for better understanding and your personal enjoyment ONLY, or to show to a friend that may not speak English.

**Rated G –** All age enjoyment (may contain some mild violence in future chapters)

* * *

The game was surprisingly tied. If they didn't strike a goal and win in the next few minutes, nullification was around the corner for all of them, and this whole sector would be destroyed. It was a scary thought as Dot Matrix stood right behind Bob and waited for the ball to come to them. If they did make it out of this game alive, she promised herself that she wouldn't tell Bob how extremely hot he looked in soccer shorts. Dot shook her head and tried to concentrate on the game again, blushing at her own daydreaming. It was a good thing that the User had no idea of what he was doing; otherwise they probably would have lost the game already. The User was in the form of a twenty-ish, blonde haired, somewhat muscular man that had a stupid grin on his face. Instead of focusing on the game he was playing, he ran around the field while kicking the ball into the corners and other weird places. After struggling for what seemed like hours, he finally would kick the ball into the other team's direction. At this moment, he was just standing there in the middle of the field while his teammates restlessly moved around him.

"Can you believe this guy?" Bob said, turning to Dot. "Why does he even bother with these games if he doesn't know how to play them?"

Dot just shrugged her shoulders and smiled while focusing her attention back on the User's team. Over the loud speaker, she could clearly hear Mike the TV's voice as he rambled off the game's scores and the occasional commercial. So much for tense moments—this game was about as tense as a lazy, boring summer day.

Finally, the User started to move. Bob and Dot and the Binomes around them moved to their positions. The User kicked the ball and it went sailing across the field. Every muscle in Bob's body tensed as he ran forward. It was like he was moving in slow motion, everything happened so fast. He kicked the black and white checked ball with enough force to send it sailing back into the User's direction. The ball went past the User, went past the other teammates, and landed inside the goal. Dot wondered for a moment if it was actually going to stop at that. There was a cheer from the nearby crowd, and Mike the TV went wild, his loud voice even louder through the speakers around the stadium. They had won the game.

"Game over," came the automatic computer voice as the purple game cube retreated back into the opening in the sky. Bob, Dot, Mike the TV, and a handful of random Binomes were left standing in front of the Eight-Ball Apartments building where Bob lived.

"That was a close one," said Bob, looking up into the sky as the last of the purplish color faded with the game. "Too close."

"You're telling me," Dot said, with a slight laugh. "I hope he never plays that game again."

"Bravo! Bravo! Good show, I say."

The strange and startling voice and slow applause made everyone spin around to face the direction it had come from. Bob was the first to act. He quickly stepped forward, shoving Dot and Mike protectively behind him. Not more than a few feet away stood a man dressed in a black leather trench coat and expensive looking clothes that appeared too outdated for Mainframe. His boney fingers held a monocle up to his right eye and he held a weird looking cane in his left hand. He was very tall and slim in figure, almost to the point of looking a tad lanky. His hair was long, stringy, and neon green in color, while his skin was a very, very dark midnight blue. His eyes were yellow and red. No one said anything as the stranger slowly stepped forward. Dot could tell that Bob was tense and ready to fight. He held his left arm ready incase the situation called for Glitch, the Guardian keytool that lay motionless on his arm. Could his Guardian instincts sense something about this strange being that wasn't visible?

"Ah, you are a Guardian. And, if I'm not mistaken, you're Guardian 452, right?"

"Yeah," Bob slowly got out.

"I am honored to meet you," The stranger extended the hand he had been holding his monocle with toward Bob in a friendly gesture. Bob's face and eyebrows contorted into a puzzled and suspicious look before he purposely crossed both of his arms over his chest.

"Do I know you?" Bob asked.

The stranger cleared his throat, wiggled his fingers, and replaced his outstretched hand back on his monocle, a little offended by Bob's actions. "No, not exactly," He stopped to clear his throat again. "You see, I'm somewhat of a stranger here amongst your fine looking system. I've only just arrived here from that game that just left."

"You rode in here on a game?" Bob sounded almost panicked.

"Oh, yes. It's the only way to travel sometimes."

"So… You're telling me that you're a game sprite? How is that even possible?"

"No, no! Not a game sprite. I'm just a regular, ordinary sprite like yourselves. I got trapped in that game some years ago. So I just decided to ride it out until I found a system I liked."

"That's still impossible. No sprite can withstand riding in a game like that. If the User wins, every sprite that doesn't belong in a game will become nullified."

"Oh, I'm aware of the dangers. But somehow I've survived. Strange, isn't it?"

The cool and slow way the stranger had let those last words roll off his tongue sent chills down Dot's back. And, surprisingly, Mike was even quiet. She glanced down at the little TV beside her and saw that his attention was focused entirely on the stranger.

The man fingered the cane he held in his hands, the rings on his fingers tapping against the odd crystal-like orb on the top. "I can see that my arrival has disturbed you," he finally said after the few minutes of silence. "I'm sorry about that. I can not help the way I entered your system. I had to get out of there somehow, and coming out of the game was the only way I could stop my traveling."

Bob eased a little, turning his gaze to Dot before turning back to the stranger. "We didn't mean to be rude. It's just that we've never encountered a sprite in this way before. No one, other than ourselves, has ever come out of a game."

"It's quite alright. And it's perfectly understandable. No need for apologies. If anyone needs to apologize, it's me. I just assumed that you knew about sprites coming out of games. I had no idea that it's never happened here before."

"What system do you originally come from?" Bob asked. The stranger opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. He looked as though he was trying to think of what it was he was going to say next. A thoughtful expression crossed his face before he placed his monocle back onto his eye to focus a nearby building.

"You know," he began, letting his monocle fall to his chest and dangle by its tiny gold chain. He placed a finger along side his nose as he thought. "I don't rightly know. It's been so long, and I've traveled to so many places since then that I've just plain forgotten."

Bob nodded slowly, not quite believing the man's story. He then stretched out his hand. "My name's Bob. This is Dot," he gestured towards his friend, "and this is Mike."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the man gleefully accepted the handshake and placed his hand into Bob's while smiling and nodding in Dot's direction. "My name is Reginald, Reginald Spitbite. However, you can just call me Spitbite if you wish."

"Nice to meet you." said Dot, shaking Spitbite's hand next.

Bob was about to say something, but he was interrupted by Dot's little hyper brother, Enzo, who suddenly came out of nowhere. Frisket, the big gold and red dog that had adopted Enzo and Dot as his family, followed along beside him.

"Dot, Bob!" Enzo shouted as he pulled to a halt beside his sister and jumped down from his zipboard. "Why didn't you tell me that you entered a game? Why did you leave me there with Cecil? Do you know what it's like to have Cecil as a babysitter? I can't believe I missed out on the game. What type of game was it this time?" Shockingly, his mouth could actually run faster than Mike's.

"Enzo," Dot cut her brother off, "I see no need for this conversation. We've had it a million times already. I didn't tell you because—"

"You don't like for me to enter games. I know, I know. They're too dangerous." Enzo whined. "But, Dot,"

"Enzo," Dot frowned and shook her head, "incase you haven't noticed, we have a guest here."

"Oh," Enzo turned to Spitbite. "Nice to meet you. I'm Enzo."

"Hello. I'm Spitbite, Reginald Spitbite. My, what a striking young chap you are. Is he any relation to you?" Spitbite smiled in Dot's direction.

"He's my little brother," she answered with a slight smile.

"I thought so," he grinned. "The family resemblance is very noticeable. I have—had—a brother too—unfortunately, he quit without saving many years ago."

"I'm sorry,"

"Thank you," Spitbite shifted his cane in his hands and pointed at his heart with his free hand. "I still have the memories here."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your brother?" Bob asked.

"Well, now, that is a very interesting question. I was a very young sprite at the time—much too young to really understand what had happened. My parents explained it to me when I was old enough to understand. He went into a game, hoping to win it, and that was the last we ever saw of him. It was the last we saw of that sector too. They told me that he had no idea of what he was doing and got himself nullified. It was then that I learned of the dangers of the games and the User inside them."

"That's why Dot won't let me go into them." Enzo said with a saddened face.

"You should respect your sister's wishes, lad. She's only looking out for you because she cares for and loves you. Games _are_ dangerous and aren't toys." Spitbite peered down at Enzo and smiled warmly before turning his attention to the zipboard that lingered in the air. "My, what a strange looking device. May I?"

"Sure," Enzo led Spitbite away from Dot and Bob and over to his zipboard. Bob silently studied the stranger as Enzo explained the zipboard and demonstrated it. Spitbite was utterly fascinated by the method of transportation that was nothing but common among Mainframers. Bob's attention was suddenly drawn to Frisket, who stood off to the side and snarled and growled under his breath when Spitbite got too close to him. The huge dog stepped away and flattened his ears against his head, until a command from Enzo hushed him.

"Dot," Bob whispered, "Would you and Enzo like to take our new guest to the diner? I need to go see Phong."

"Sure," Dot replied. "What's up?"

"I'm not quite sure," Bob gazed in Spitbite's direction. "I just have a funny feeling about this."

"About what?"

"Spitbite," Bob shook his head, "and the stories he's told us. Everything about this guy doesn't process, if you ask me. For one thing, it doesn't make sense. If he's a sprite like he says he is then he shouldn't even be here. He should have been nullified after the game left wherever it is he came from."

"Maybe there are things we still don't know about games."

"It's possible," Bob shrugged, "but I'm going to check with Phong just to be safe."

Spitbite approached Bob and Dot again. "Did I hear something about a diner?" His lips curled into a smile and he shifted his cane to his other hand.

"Uh—yeah," Dot glanced at Bob, startled. "Enzo and I are going to take you to the diner I own. That is, if you want to come."

"I'd be delighted to come," said Spitbite. "In fact, I'd be delighted to have a tour of this magnificent system of yours."

Dot's eyebrows lifted.

Bob walked into the Principle Office only to be greeted by Phong, who hurried up to him in a great hurry. The old sprite had a look of concern on his face.

"Bob," Phong came to a jolting halt and adjusted his small spectacles, "I'm so glad you are here."

"What's wrong, Phong?"

"Right before the game left, there was a sudden burst of energy like I've never seen."

"What kind of energy?"

"I-I don't know. Come, have a look at these readings."

Bob followed Phong through a doorway leading into a room having readouts, dials, buttons, and vidwindow screens. Some of the vidwindows silently replayed the last game that had dropped.

"Right here," Phong pointed a thin finger toward a few digital readouts. "As you can see, it's not game energy and it's not Tear energy." Bob studied the readings a few minutes while Phong continued. "I can not pinpoint the exact location of this energy, but from the way these readings show, it's somewhere in Mainframe. There is something trying to block it, because these readings are not accurate. They are having a hard time locking onto the energy source."

"Phong, I think I know the reason for this. A sprite followed us out of the game."

Phong's small eyes blinked a few times. "A sprite followed you out of the game? But how,"

"I dunno, but there's more behind this character than meets the eye. That's why I'm here. He says that he got stuck in it years ago and has been riding it out ever since until he found a system to his liking. But if you ask me, there's something not right about him. I can feel it."

"Perhaps he's not telling the whole truth?"

"I have a feeling, yes. Or maybe everything he's telling isn't the truth at all. I'm not going to point fingers until I'm sure, though."

Phong nodded in approval. "Does this new sprite have a name?"

"He says his name's Reginald Spitbite."

"Hmmm… That name does not sound familiar to me," Phong turned around and started typing something on one of the nearby consoles. "There is no one by that name listed in the databanks. I assumed as much. Were there any distinguishing characteristics about him?"

Bob thought a minute. "There _was_ something. He carried this weird looking old cane. I think it was more for decoration than something to help him get around—a fashion accessory, so to speak."

"A cane, huh? Can you describe it?"

"It was dark—maybe dark brown, almost black—and had a lot of carved work. The bottom part was straight for the most part, but it started curving and twisting as it got closer to the top, like a tree branch. And it had a crystal ball of sorts on the very top."

"Let us hope that it _is_ just a fashion accessory," Phong adjusted his spectacles. "If I were you, I would keep an eye on this mysterious sprite, at least until we learn more about him and where he came from. You might be right in having a strange feeling about him. One can not be too careful. Where is he now?"

"Dot and Enzo took him to the diner. I'm supposed to meet them there after I finish here."

"Then you must go," Phong started toward the door. "Do not leave Dot and Enzo alone with him until you find out more about him. If he does prove to be a threat, Dot and Enzo could be in real danger."

Bob started walking faster after hearing Phong's words. "Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure and keep my eyes on him at all times. And I'll report to you if I find out anything new."

"Please do. And remember, do not turn your back on him, and do not anger him until we know for sure that he's just a sprite. I am with you, Bob. I have doubts about his story as well. True, there are still things we do not know about the games, but it's hard for me to believe that a sprite can withstand a game like he claims. And this mysterious energy is disturbing me. Somehow I have this funny feeling that they are both connected somehow."


	2. Friend or Foe?

"This is a fine diner, Dot," Spitbite seated himself at a nearby table and propped his cane beside him, "a real fine diner."

"Thanks," Dot smiled. "What would you like?"

"I'd fancy a glass of WINE, but then again I doubt that you serve that here."

"No, sorry," Dot waved Cecil over to their table. "Would an energy shake do instead?"

"Sounds delightful," Spitbite smiled. "I'm so famished that I'll take anything."

"Three energy shakes, please." Dot told Cecil, the square shaped monitor waiter that dangled from the diner's ceiling.

"Very good, ma'am, ze orders weell be right out." said Cecil, giving the newcomer a strange and silent look before going off to get Dot's order.

"Ah! I see you are admiring my cane." Spitbite said, noticing Enzo's curiosity for the first time. Enzo had been staring at Spitbite's cane ever since the elder sprite placed it in-between them. Spitbite picked it up and placed it on the table in front of them.

"It's a nice looking cane, sir," said Enzo. "I've never seen anything like it."

Spitbite casually waved the comment off. "It's just an old worthless relic that I found while I was game hopping. As far as I know, it's useless aside from being fashionable." He placed his right hand on his monocle and peered closer at the crystal on top as he spoke, as if he'd seen it for the first time.

"It looks rather interesting," said Dot, running her green fingers over its smooth, polished surface. A tingling feeling went through her at touching it, and she quickly took her fingers away, not letting her feelings show. Or at least she had hoped her feelings hadn't shown. When she looked up again, she was taken back when Spitbite met her gaze. It was as if he had been watching her to see how she would react. "And it's certainly beautiful and unique." she added quickly, taking her eyes away from his. Had he noticed her reaction?

"Yes, it is," Spitbite ran his fingers down it too and chuckled a little. "That's one of the reasons why I claimed it. Wish I could find out its past, though."

"Alphanumeric!" Enzo blurted out. "Wonder if it holds some kind of secret? Or better yet, wonder if it's some kind of secret weapon? Wonder if that crystal on top holds some kind of unknown power? Dude,"

Dot couldn't help but look at Enzo in surprise, and a little bit of horror. She wanted to say something, but Cecil came up beside her with their orders and started passing the energy shakes around the table. She was glad for the diversion. What she was about to say might have offended Spitbite. She wasn't sure yet if that was a good thing to do. In fact, she was beginning to think that Bob was right in his suspicions about this guy. What she had felt when she had touched the cane wasn't right. And Spitbite's interest in her reactions was definitely unnerving. Was he telling the truth or lying? He seemed so nice and believable, but yet he was a bit scary at the same time. Enzo didn't think anything was wrong with Spitbite, that's for sure. While lost in her thoughts and oblivious of everything around her, Dot eyed her little brother as he sipped his shake and jabbered on about something or other with the stranger.

"Isn't that right, Dot? Dot?" Enzo's voice brought Dot back to reality.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something to me?" Dot shook her head and reached for her shake.

"Dot, are you okay?"

"Yes, Enzo, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something, that's all." She glanced over at Spitbite, who was drinking his shake without a straw. He had taken the lid off and placed it along with the straw over to the side. "What were you saying?"

"I was just telling Spitbite about the diner—how you bought it and opened it up shortly before Dad's accident."

"Yes," said Dot, and refused to say more. She hadn't wanted to be reminded of their father or the other city, especially not now. She immediately felt a few tears form in her eyes at the painful memories, but she quickly blinked them away before Enzo or Spitbite noticed. Why was Enzo even brining up all of this and telling it to a perfect stranger? Then again, that was Enzo. He could ramble on for hours on end about nothing and everything, and rambling on about it to a wall. But apparently Spitbite had asked Enzo about the diner. Spitbite was starting to make Dot feel very uncomfortable. Why did he want to know about it, and why does he appear so interested in everything?

A sudden bang brought everyone in the diner to attention. Dot, without even thinking, shot up from her seat, while Enzo and Spitbite jumped and turned their heads toward the direction the sound had come from.

"What in the net was that?" said Enzo.

At first they didn't see anything, but then Bob lifted himself up off the pavement just outside the diner, placing his hands on the front window for support. He was in the process of rubbing his head, his face, his nose, and whatever else throbbed. He limped to the diner's front doors and pushed them open, nearly coming close to falling forward through them.

"My gracious," Spitbite breathed, a tad concerned at the sight.

"Bob?" Dot said aloud before rushing to his side and placing his left arm on her shoulder. Cecil came up to them to help too. "Bob, are you alright?" She helped the blue skin sprite inside and over to their table.

"Yeah, I think so," Bob cringed in pain as he slid into the booth Dot had been sitting in. "Enzo, you are seriously going to have to do something about Frisket. He jumped up and snatched my zipboard out from under me and sent me flying into the diner window."

Dot had to fight back a giggle. She noticed Spitbite taking another sip of his shake to hide a laugh as well.

"No problem, Bob," Enzo said with a slight laugh. "I know it won't do any good, but I'll try."

"What does that dog have against me, anyway?" Bob looked at Dot in a pitiful way. Dot smiled before sliding in beside her friend. She felt safe now that Bob was here, even though she kept her feelings to herself. Bob turned his head and his gaze fell on the cane lying on the table in front of him. He paused a minute, and then turned to Dot and smiled.

"Nice cane," he said, turning to Spitbite. "Mind if I take a look at it?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Bob picked up the cane and turned it over and over in his hands, looking over every inch of it. Dot couldn't believe he didn't feel what she had felt.

"Certainly interesting," Bob placed the cane back on the table.

"I was just telling your friends earlier that it's an old worthless piece I picked up while in the games and traveling from system to system."

Bob nodded. Without warning, Cecil came up to the table and pushed an energy shake into Bob's face before moving on. Everyone watched as the irritable waiter hurriedly swiped empty tables with the cloth in his hand. Bob looked at the drink in his hands and then to Dot seated beside him.

"O-kay. What was _that_ all about?" he said with a chuckle. He placed the shake onto the table and turned his attention back to Spitbite. "What are you planning to do now that you're in Mainframe?"

Spitbite leaned forward on the table and placed his hands on his cane. "I don't know, exactly. I guess I'll stay here for awhile and sightsee a bit. Then catch the next game that falls. I'm a wanderer, really. I can't stay in one place very long."

"Dude, are you really going to go back into the games?" Enzo asked.

"I suppose so. It's the only way I have of traveling." Spitbite sounded a bit sad.

"How is it that you can travel through games?" asked Bob, taking a sip of his energy shake.

"I don't rightly know. The first time I became stuck in one, I was scared that the same thing that happened to my older brother might happen to me. But for some reason I survived through it and was carried off by the game instead of being left behind. The next thing I knew I was traveling far from my home. When the game landed again, I was no longer in my system, but was in some other system—a system not known to me. From that point on I was determined to find my way home, but found it to be harder than I could have ever imagined. You would not believe how many systems there are out there. Finally, I decided to give up. And after that, I've just considered myself a wanderer—someone who has no true home, but travels from world to world."

"You can stay here with us!" Enzo said excitedly. "This can be your home."

Spitbite smiled at the child beside him. "Thank you for the offer, Enzo, but I doubt anyone here would want an old sprite like me. What could I do here? I'm not gifted with the skills to get a job."

"I'm sure there's something you could do. You might be able to work for Old Man Pearson down at the Data Dump. Then again, working with him can be a major pain in the bitmap. He can be really grumpy sometimes."

"Enzo,"

Enzo turned his eyes to Bob. The Guardian shook his head silently and Enzo fell back in his seat.

"I'm pretty sure that Spitbite has business elsewhere. If he wants to leave, let him leave. But we can show him a good time while he's here."

"I'll give it some thought," said Spitbite. "You do have a nice system here. If I like it well enough, I might just accept Enzo's invitation."

Bob and Dot exchanged glances. Both of them weren't sure they liked the sound of that.

"Would you like to show me around the city?" Spitbite turned to Enzo.

"Me?!"

"Well, sure. You seem to know quite a bit about everything. I'd be honored if you would show me around the famous sights."

"Alphanumeric! C'mon, let's go. I'll get you a zipboard so you won't have to walk so much."

"Sounds wonderful," Spitbite got up from his seat and followed Enzo to the door, but stopped and turned around to head back to the table. Dot wasn't sure, but Spitbite almost looked a little terrified for a second. "Forgot my cane," he simply said as he grabbed up the cane from the table's top. Before exiting the diner, Spitbite turned and thanked Dot for the shake.

"What do you make of him?" Dot turned to Bob after Spitbite and Enzo left. Bob didn't say anything, but instead turned his eyes to the screen on Glitch. Some digital readings scrolled across Glitch for a few minutes and Bob was lost in them.

"I don't know," he replied, finally, "but I'm going to follow him." Bob finished reading Glitch and turned his full attention to Dot. "Phong had uneasy feelings about him too. He wants me to keep my eyes on Spitbite and update him on anything new. I can't put my finger on it, but there's still something I don't like about him."

"What were you reading there?" Dot nodded her head towards Glitch.

"I had Glitch to secretly scan Spitbite's cane while it was in my hands. Unfortunately, I can't make out much of these readings. It's almost like something's interfering with them, but that's almost impossible. From the way it says here, it's just a regular cane. There's nothing out of the ordinary about it."

"That can't be right," Dot shook her head. "I felt something when I touched it earlier before you arrived." 

"You felt something?"

"Yeah, I felt a tingling in my fingers. And what was scary is that Spitbite seemed to take careful notice of my reaction. I almost felt like…well… like a Null in a cage."

Bob's eyebrows came closer together as he peered down at Glitch's screen again. "Phong told me that right after the game left there was a burst of energy like nothing ever seen before, and it's still lingering here in Mainframe. He showed it to me, and he's right. It's not game energy and not energy from a Tear either. Whether this new energy and Spitbite are both connected somehow is still not known. But I want to say that they are. It's the only way I know to explain it. And if there's something more to that cane of his, I want to know why he's taking such pains to hide it."

"Bob, what does all of this mean? Is Spitbite good or… bad?"

"I don't know, Dot, but I intend to find out." Bob started to get up and Dot moved out of the booth to let him out. He cringed a little and grasped the back part of the booth to steady himself.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dot hid an amused smile.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," He limped forward a few feet and then straightened up and headed toward the double glass doors. Bob might have tried to hide it, but Dot could easily tell that he was still sore from the impact.


End file.
